Inverted Perception
by Limitless Musings
Summary: Ban x Kag. The world beyond the well had always been violent, but never before had she dwelled upon it. Now that her perception has been turned upside-down, Kagome must come to terms with what it is she's fighting for.


Disclaimer: I don't own jack!

 _ **Summary:**_ The world beyond the well had always been violent, but never before had she dwelled upon it. Now that her perception has been turned upside-down, Kagome must come to terms with what it is she's fighting for.

 _Pairing: Bankotsu/Kagome_

 _ **Inverted Perception**_

 _Bankotsu walked silently towards the center of the courtyard. His comrade was cradled gently in his arms as her legs dangled limply from his grasp. The manor around them had been set ablaze, causing the light of his scarlet vengeance to spill over the night sky. Cobalt eyes turned down to stare at the grievously injured woman in his arms. She turned her head into his neck as her hand clutched the white fabric of his haori. Hatred overcame his soul. Wounds littered her frail form. Several crisscrossing trails of crimson blood soaked through what was once a beautiful yukata. It had been the first one that he had given her. The light blue cloth was slowly starting to run red with the blood she was losing. It wouldn't be much longer now before she would cave completely to the siren call of death. He knew that she had tried to be strong. She had tried to fight. Even now she was struggling not to fall into the arms of death. One look upon her pained face and he could see the determination written in her expression. The mercenary's heart clenched. He had failed her. The silver shard hanging around his neck grew heavy with the weight of his failure. Kagome was going to die, and it was his fault._

 _"Don't you give me that look." Taken aback, the young man stared at the miko cradled in his arms, "Don't you even start with me. I swear I'll..." She coughed into his chest, speckles of blood now staining the once white cloth. "I swear I'm not going to die. Not here, not like this." She hissed furiously. The blood stained knife tucked into his obi knocked against his hip with her struggles against death-yet another reminder of why things had gone the way they did._

 _"Bankotsu," She rasped, her once bright azure eyes becoming clouded with the pillars of black smoke billowing around them like a dark mist. "Use the shard." His heart stopped as his arms tightened around her protectively._

 _"You can't be serious."_

 _"I am." Kagome's words were accentuated with her nails digging deep into his shoulder. "I will not die like this. Even if it means using the damn shard."_

 _"You'll be a zombie... just like the rest of us." Bankotsu stated gently. Although outwardly calm, inwardly he was desperate. After everything they had been through the last thing he wanted to do was condemn her to a fate of being one of the walking dead. He had already tainted her enough. Did she really have to be cursed with the burden of death as well?_

 _"It's the only way and you know it." Something inside of him snapped at those words. He collapsed to his knees, his arms cradling her weakened body to ensure that she didn't get hurt. Kagome's breath hitched as one of Bankotsu's thick hands gently threaded themselves in her hair, the other came to rest upon her waist. The mercenary pressed his face into the crook of the miko's neck. Why? Why did it have to be like this?_

 _"Please Bankotsu..." At that, he could no longer hold in the grief he felt. With as much passion as he could summon, he slanted his lips over her mouth. He watched as her eyes slipped closed and content spread across her battle worn features. The braided-haired man removed his hand from her waist and grasped the silver jewel shard from his neck. Plucking it away from him, he pressed it into the soft flesh of her neck-hoping that her plan would work._

* * *

Music blared loudly in Kagome's sensitive ears. She nodded her head to the beat; tapping the edge of her mechanical pencil on her paper in a synchronized rhythm. The world around the young woman bled away into colors and numbers. Cerulean eyes focused solely on the problem sitting right in front of her. As the beat's momentum increased, her head bobbing grew in speed as well. The pinprick of a headache was starting but she chose to ignore it in favor of losing herself to her imaginings. She loved this. Being able to ignore the world around her and simply focus on the life of the beat. It energized her like nothing before. Here, it was like all those adventures in the feudal era were just horrible nightmares. The tell tale prick of a jewel shard tugging at the edge of her senses became a figment of her imagination. It was like the shock of coming out of a vivid dream-where the very perception of the things she touched and felt seemed to become reality.

As the song came to its close, Kagome glanced over her homework once more. All the problems completed she pushed it to the side and allowed herself to relax fully. The lamp on her desk glowed in the darkness of her room. It was a cloudy night so only the over-glow of the city's lights lit up the night sky. Tapping of rain quietly beat against her window. Now in her early twenties, Kagome stretched her palms towards the air and eyed the miniature mountain of textbooks piled on her desk. After so many years of struggling, she had finally managed to get into a community college. It took a lot of effort to even be accepted due to her rather impressive reputation for missing school. However now that she was in, she couldn't do anything but smile to herself. Being here felt like a sanctuary against the terrors she experienced on the other side of the well. Death and despair no longer followed her like a shadow creeping in the night.

She quickly dressed herself into a simple sleeping tank and night shorts before climbing into the silken sheets of her bed. It was so comforting to be able to do so once again. Azure eyes closed blissfully. Sometimes, she wondered if this was all just a dream. After dealing with so much, she often began to wonder which world was real and which was the dream. As the night sky bled into the light blues of morning's approaching dawn, she started to believe that maybe this peaceful life was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. A snap of power slipped through her body. She opened her eyes briefly only to find the darkened ceiling of her room above. Strange. Without another thought Kagome slipped into the wonders of her dreams.

* * *

Bankotsu stood a few feet off from the rest of the Shichinintai. Naraku's new orders had been given. Capture Kagome Higurashi alive and bring her directly to him. The young man rested Banryuu upon his shoulder and stared off into the distance. Sure it was great and all that the girl could sense shards but he didn't really get what all the fuss was about her. It wasn't like she was the only priestess around that could sense them. Cobalt eyes narrowed as Renkotsu went to work on Ginkotsu's maintenance.

"You really gonna go get her?" Jakotsu piped up from beside him, lifting a bowl of sake to his feminine lips. There was a clear grimace of disgust painted across the underling's face.

Bankotsu leaned against the pillar of the manor they had just overtaken, "Got no choice. Naraku was quite _adamant_ about obtaining the girl." A smirk spread across his boyish face, "You think he's got a thing for her?" The obvious disgust from before returned with full force.

"But she's a _woman_!" Jakotsu hissed. Their leader laughed heartily.

"I think you're the only one interested in _men_ around here."

They spent the night discussing different methods of capturing their target alive. Despite her lack of physical strength, Bankotsu was fully aware that to underestimate the miko was to leave themselves open to danger. One of her arrows had the capacity to send them back to the grave from which they came.

As moon light bled into sunlight, the group agreed upon a single strategy.

"I think it's time we retrieved her, what do you guys say?" There was a chorus of dark chuckles and murmurs of agreement.

It had taken a total of three days before the reached the outskirts of the village that Naraku informed them where the girl often stayed. Steel-like eyes narrowed as the villagers strode peacefully about. How long had it been since he had seen such a scene? Memories of long ago lit up in his mind's eye. Images of lotus flowers and maple trees invaded his thoughts.

He shook his head before surveying the area. Although this area was notorious for being Inuyasha's home, the hanyou appeared to be away for the moment. Bankotsu relaxed somewhat-relieved that Naraku's information was spot on. If he was correct then they'd have a three day window to capture Kagome before he'd return. He smirked at the prospect. This was most certainly going to be interesting.

 **A/n:** So this idea has been plaguing me for a while. To prevent burnout I'm going to try to keep chapters shorter on this one. I've got a couple of parts already typed up of other stories, but things are going a bit slowly for me because of a few things going on in my personal life. Nothing bad but there are a few possible changes that might happen that I'm trying to prepare for. So I'm hoping everything will work out! Anyways, let me know what you think! I greatly appreciate it!


End file.
